Review: Dell T105 Server

By admin on July 31st, 2008

In early July 2008, I purchased a Dell T105 small business server to host some simple single-page webs. It was my intention to use it as a web front end server for 12-18 months, then demote it to a simple fileshare.

Here is my review of the Dell T105 Server:

Configuration:

Dual-core AMD Opteron @ 1.8MHz
4 GIG 800MHz RAM
2x 250G SATA HDDs, no RAID
1x 100mb NIC
No OS

My Enhancements:

Windows Server 2003 Enterprise
AVG Network Edition

PROS:

Quiet Machine. This is one you can easily keep in the open office, not in a rack or closet. (it’s a desktop by the way) The HDDs are cheap and make TONS of noise when utilized.
The machine is quite quick to boot, even with SQL server, IIS, AVG, and Active Directory running. Boot takes about 2 minutes, which for a server is pretty good.
The two 250G hard drives are plenty of space for my web front ends, a SQL server, and IIS logs of my heavy traffic websites. The drawback is that I didn’t get RAID as I knew I was supposed to… Next time.
Inexpensive. I paid just under $700 for my configuration, and it comes with a 3 year warranty.

CONS:

I purchased my machine without RAID, and with a DVD-ROM for installation media, I only have 3 SATA ports available for HDDs, and no onboard RAID to use. Dell offered a RAID controller, multiple in fact, and I should have purchased one.
No Gigabit NIC. Again, Dell has this upgrade option, I simply didn’t utilize it.
Operating system upgrades weren’t competitively priced. I could purchase the license for Server 2003 for about $300 cheaper than Dell was offering.

Verdict:

The Dell T105 Server (Dell T-105) is an extremely good choice for small 20-30 person offices or those who wish to host multiple websites with 4000-10000 hits per day. If you want a system that will last you 5+ years, this one is not it. The HDDs are consumer class and the ventilation isn’t going to keep the parts happy for 5 years. If you keep this system in a well ventilated area and patch it regularly, it will give you excellent performance at an affordable price.

Find the Dell T105 on the CHEAP!